At one point, someone pointed out to me that I looked like on of those starving kids in Africa with my potbelly. Therefore, when I was in my late twenties found myself an emotional wreck. No one wanted to hang out with me and it seemed at times that I was having a nervous breakdown. My systems were besides being underweight, constantly having to go to the bathroom after eating, under my eyes; they were always black as if I did not get any sleep.
My big belly and nausea were something that I got use to. Nevertheless, in my late twenties found myself with sweaty hands and feet along with the rest, it got to a point were I could not function anymore so went to see a Doctor. I thought I was having a nervous breakdown, as it seemed that anytime I got upset these symptoms would manifest themselves to a severe degree. To make a long story short he said no you are not having a nervous breakdown nothing bothers you. That sounded strange to me but he came back and said that he suspected that I was a celiac. What is that I queried? He explained simply that I was not able to digest a protein called gluten. It would potentially make me anemic underweight and the likely cause of my bloated stomach.
He went on to tell me that the villi that normally grabs onto food particles flatten out and so the food goes through my system unabsorbed. For the most part. It gives you a lot of gas, which was not something that was new to me .He sent me to a specialist who put a scope down my throat to see what was happening. He told me that apparently I had an ulcer at one time that healed up as he could see the scaring. He took a sample of my stomach lining and the juices as well. Well when I went back to my doctor, he said that I was a Celiac.
At the end of the day, only a strict diet would make me better. No wheat, barley. Oats or rye for me. After the first week of being on the diet, I found myself starting to panic as I had lost another ten pounds that same week. The doctor told me it was only water weight and that if I stayed on the diet would find myself gaining weight and feeling better. It was a difficult journey for me with only basic information at the time unlike today. The thing was when I broke the diet after being on it for months, found myself having to pay for it dearly. It was not unusual for me to lose between 8 and fifteen pounds in a few days after breaking the diet. Today I only eat meats that are not processed regardless of what the labels say. fruits and vegetables. That is it. As it turns out as time went by, found myself unable to drink any kind of alcohol, as it would give me severe headaches along with symptoms of breaking the diet.
